The present invention relates to electrification of office furniture and the like, and in particular to a modular power distribution unit therefor.
Open offices are well known and generally comprise large open floor spaces that are divided into individual offices or work stations. Several different furniture arrangements are presently available to divide such open office spaces and include partition panels, system furniture and modular furniture. These office arrangements are widely utilized as they are relatively easy to install, convenient to rearrange after installation, attractive in appearance and allow a large number of offices or work stations to be installed within an open floor space.
It is desirable that office furniture units include an electrical wiring system of some type. Such wiring systems preferably provide electrical power to the various work stations for typewriters, computers, dictating equipment, lights, clocks and other electrical appliances. The wiring system should not detrimentally effect the ease of installation, the convenience in rearranging the furniture after installation, or the attractive appearance of the furniture. Thus, to facilitate electrification, many furniture units include a utility raceway associated therewith in which the wiring system is housed.
A wide variety of wiring system for such office furniture units are currently available. These wiring system employ different techniques and arrangements to conduct electrical power through the office furniture unit and to interconnect adjacent office furniture units. Versatility, durability, electrical integrity, convenience of installation and rearrangement of furnished units, and overall safety are all important design consideration for a wiring system. An additional important design consideration is providing a wiring system which is adapted to fit within the limited confines of existing furniture units which also includes the capability of providing power to all the various electrical appliances at various work stations. Thus, it is desirable to provide a wiring system having a plurality of power supply circuits. However, the utility raceways of some existing furniture units are designed only for a three-wire power distribution system. Thus, it is desirable to provide a very compact or space efficient power distribution system with the versatility and convenience of a large number of wires in a powerway design to accommodate a three-wire power distribution system. Yet another desirable design goal is to increase the number of outlets which can be provided on an electrical circuit and still remain within National Electrical Code (NEC) requirements.